Our Blog

August 22, 2022

Thank you and good luck to our JusticeCorps fellows!

From left to right: IL JusticeCorps Fellows Elizabeth (Liza) Sayasane, Claire Evans, Megan Yerger, and Nadia Castillo.

It is that time of year when another amazing group of Illinois JusticeCorps fellows have completed their terms of service and move on to then next phase of their careers. These four fellows have dedicated the past year to […]

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August 4, 2022

jep logoCongratulations to the Newest JEP Graduates!

Last month, the CBF Justice Entrepreneurs Project celebrated the graduation of the January 2021 cohort, the nineteenth cohort of participants to successfully complete the 18-month program. The graduates include Amy Cook, Terra Gross, and India Rios. All three graduates have built socially conscious law firms and innovative businesses that offer valuable, cost-effective legal services to […]

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July 26, 2022

The Chicago Bar Foundation24th Annual Pro Bono & Public Service Awards Luncheon to Honor Seven Unsung Heroes of Chicago’s Legal Community This Friday!

We are humbled to once again honor seven unsung heroes in our legal community for their remarkable pro bono and public service achievements at this year’s CBA/CBF Pro Bono & Public Service Awards Luncheon. The Luncheon will take place Friday, July 29th from 12:00 to 1:30 p.m. at the Hilton Chicago (720 S, Michigan Ave.). […]

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July 26, 2022

How Did Legal Services Get So Unaffordable, and What Are We Going to Do About It?

By Bob Glaves | CBF Executive Director

Over the past 50 years, we gradually have gone from a time in our country where the average middle-class person or small business generally could find affordable legal services when they needed them to a time today where everyday people struggle to afford legal help and lawyers often joke […]

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July 25, 2022

New Study Highlights Challenges and Opportunities for Legal Aid Lawyers and Their Organizations

A comprehensive new study of the legal aid community in Illinois conducted by Mercer for the CBF gives a sobering yet inspiring view of what it is like to be a legal aid lawyer today and what we can do to better support these dedicated lawyers and those interested in pursuing these vital careers in […]

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July 21, 2022

jep logoCongratulations to our 2022 JEPY Award Winners!

On June 14, 2022, stars of the CBF Justice Entrepreneurs Project, friends, family, and community partners gathered to celebrate innovative practices, expanded access to legal services, and lawyering with panache at Midwest Coast Brewing Company. The big winners of the night were: 

  • Innovation in Legal Service Delivery: Chicago Consumer Law Center, P.C. (Rob Harrer) 
  • You Don’t Know Until […]
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    June 22, 2022

    An Innovation Playbook for Access to Justice

    By Bob Glaves | CBF Executive Director

    Over the past several posts, I’ve given an overview of innovation and talked about when it does and does not make sense in the quest to improve access to justice. For all the ways technology plays a key role (though often not in the ways we might first think), […]

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    June 22, 2022

    Welcome, Mehroz & Natalie!

    This summer, the CBF is fortunate enough to work with two spectacular interns and externs: Mehroz Mohammed and Natalie Byrnes.

    Mehroz is a rising 2L at the University of Illinois College of Law in Champaign/Urbana who is doing her externship with the CBF as part of the school’s Racial Justice Practicum. She wants to become a […]

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    June 20, 2022

    Three More Trailblazing Attorneys Join JEP Network

    On June 6th, the CBF Justice Entrepreneurs Project welcomed its nineteenth cohort into the program. These three attorneys— Nick Hafen, Kadijah Hall, and Braden Tilghman —are eager to start innovative, socially conscious firms focused on helping people in the middle market access affordable legal help. The new JEPers join over 60 attorneys currently in the […]

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    June 17, 2022

    Joseph Dailing (1943-2022)

    The CBF mourns the passing of Joe Dailing, a longtime leader in legal aid and access to justice efforts and a great friend and colleague to all who were lucky enough to work with him.

    Joe was a trailblazing leader, serving as the founding Executive Director of Prairie State Legal Services for almost 30 years and […]

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